Backswing – back arm (bicep area) position

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Hi Ross,

New to the forum… With your system, Where should the back arm (top side arm/bicep area) be positioned at the top of the backswing? Should it be touching the side of the body, or should it be detached from the side of the body?

Thanks in advance for answering my question.

[Ross]

Ross Dec 09, 2014
Hi Spartan
The back arm does NOT attach to the side of the body. The arms are controlled by the shoulders. Yes the back arm does bend a little, but the main goal for the arms are for the elbows to stay close together. This helps defeat the arms from working on their own or lifting on their own (which disconnects from the body/shoulders). If the shoulders are allowed to control the arms/club, the large muscles can take control and easily return the arms/club back to impact correctly (essentially, how they started).

Usually, you can learn with short backswings and then lengthen as the shoulders take more and more control. As you lengthen, you will usually find a point where the arms/hands take over trying to add more… that’s when things break down. The more you can control that “break down”, the more consistent your swing will become.

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Thanks Ross.

Ok, I think I understand! I will definitely start with short backswings. For future reference though, once I train the major muscles, of all your videos, which one would be the best one to study of how far back I should take the shoulders/arms/club (or how the final backswing should look like at the top)? Which one is the newest one?

Thanks again

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Ross,

The fact that my front shoulder (right handed) is hurting a bit, does it mean maybe I taking the backswing to far?

[Ross]

Ross Dec 09, 2014
If you front shoulder is hurting, something is not right. You may be turning too far. You may be pushing down instead of around your shoulders. You may want to feel both shoulders turn around your spine, or the back shoulder pull towards your spine. If your do the Large Muscles Drill, you should experience the same feeling… freedom and no pain.

As far as “how far” or an example…everyone is different. It is not how far you wind up… it is more how fast and complete you rotate on the downswing. The forward movement is KEY! The backswing is just the preparation for the downswing. This is just like throwing a ball… you don’t take your arm back farther, you just turn through faster and accelerated and complete.

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Thanks Ross

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